Being a member of Blue Man Group is 'a dream job in so many ways'

Russell Rinker doesn’t speak when he’s at work. And yet he communicates emotions to thousands of people each day.

Rinker earns a paycheck as a member of the Blue Man Group, which comes to the Peoria Civic Center for two performances April 9 and 10.

It’s a role that is challenging but fulfilling, he said recently by telephone from a tour stop in Vancouver, where the troupe was performing eight shows.

“Everyone says how limited you are not being able to speak, but playing the character is freeing,” he said. “You can get away with anything as a Blue Man. The job incorporates everything I enjoy about live performance — music, comedy, audience interaction. It’s a dream job in so many ways.”

Rinker grew up in rural Virginia and was involved in all the things a future performer might be into — theater, marching band, jazz band. He was acting in regional shows when he decided to move to Chicago, where he saw a Blue Man performance.

“I thought it was very compelling. It was the weirdest thing I’d ever seen,” he said.

He auditioned and got a role in the Las Vegas show. Later he joined a cruise ship production, and these days he tours with the traveling group, mutely entertaining audiences in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

“It was a complete 180, which I found very exciting,” he said of being a Blue Man. “It’s really kind of broken me down as an artist-performer, because you take away this bag of tricks you have as an actor and you have to figure out a different way to communicate.”

The show has its origins in 1980s New York City, where creators Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton were “basically doing things to satisfy themselves,” Rinker said.

“They were not happy with the theater, music and art scene of the mid-’80s, so they were trying to rebel against that. It was this idea of, we’re living in urban isolation. We live in a city with millions of people, but everyone’s alone and nobody knows their neighbor. They were doing small pieces, then added drums. They let it evolve into this show, and it blew up. They never intended that it would be what it is, but it really resonated with people.”

A show consists of three characters whose personalities are based on the creators. There’s a mad scientist-type, a trickster and a reluctant leader. Throughout the show they drum, fling paint, catch marshmallows in their mouth. And, of course, they are blue.

To get ready for a show, a thin latex swim cap is glued down around the hairline, covering up hair and ears. Then each Blue Man is covered in a thick, grease-based paint with a Vaseline consistency. Add a baggy black suit and black combat boots and the look is complete.

Although Blue Man Group has become a multi-million dollar phenomenon with shows in five cities along with a touring production, the original creators are still writing and creating new material. The current show has bits about social media and technology, with giant iPhones that drop out of the ceiling.

The goal remains “to not just show people a good time, but to inspire them and get them connected and get them thinking about things differently,” Rinker said.

“It’s kind of cliché, but expect the unexpected, and be ready to have fun. People think of this show as circus tricks and music, but it’s really funny, too,” he said. “It’s a very safe place to let your inner child come out and play.”

Danielle Hatch can be reached at 686-3262 or dhatch@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @danielle_hatch.